What age do you toilet train?

What is the ideal age to toilet train? I've heard ages range from 2-4! Like anything, I guess every child is ready at different times. My son has just turned 2 and hates having his nappy changed- so wondered if now s a god time? any advice would be great! Thanks

With my first daughter, we trained her very easily around 2.5 or so. With my 2nd, she is going to be 3 in August and it is much harder to train her! I've been trying to be consistent because I know that when she goes to kindy in September, they prefer them to be trained - but it's rough going! Hopefully the school is understanding because I don't think she will be completely trained by then...

I'm toilet training my 23 month old girl right now. I'd say it's more of the signs readiness than the age. Can the child verbalise if he/she needs to poo or wee? Can he/she keep the nappy dry overnight (which means they can control & hold their wee)?

I've rolled up our rug, bought disposable waterproof mats & placed them on the couches & chairs & covered them with a blanket. For cleaning up the mess, you can get those disinfectant wipes, paper towels & a small bucket or basin to lug around. Prepare another bucket to soak all the soiled underwear (there will be heaps!) & just wash them all at the end of the day.

For cleaning your child, just have lots of underwear on standby & wipes to clean them up.

With our guy we tried potty training after his 2nd birthday and failed. We tried again when he was 2 yrs 9 mths with success. We went to Wanchai market and bought packs of underwear with his favorite character on, loads of stickers for a reward chart and also a couple of packets of M&Ms (which he loved).

We started over Easter break, when we were all home and everyone took turns to take him to the toilet. Our helper was fantastic, and extremely patient. She would sit in the toilet with him reading books.

Here are the signs that your child is ready.

Is his nappy frequently dry when you get him up from his lunch-time nap. A dry nappy a couple of hours after his last nappy change would also be an indication that he is getting some bladder control.
- He shows signs of awareness when doing a poo, i.e. he goes very quiet and squeezes his legs together, or points to his nappy and says "poo" or "pee-pee" when he has done one.
- He can understand and follow simple instructions, e.g. "go and fetch your red ball" or "put your toy in the box".
- He is eager to participate in taking off his own clothes, e.g. shoes, socks and shorts, and understands what pulling his shorts up and down means.
- He has the ability to sit still and occupy himself or concentrate for 5-10 minutes with a toy or book.

I think the answer partly depends on your child and partly depends on how much patience you have. My younger boy seemed interested in toilet training just after turning two, but in the end he wasn't picking it up quickly and I was not willing to stay at home for 3 days and stay by the bathroom. I tried again at 2 yrs 10 months and he pretty much he got it right away - no real training required (except a few M&Ms as rewards). Same thing with my older son who was out of diapers by 2 yrs 9 months. I think if you want them out of diapers earlier, you will need to be more patient and take the time to train them.